The present invention relates generally to antennas, and more particularly, to a wideband, low frequency, airborne Vivaldi antenna and deployment method.
Several airborne systems require the transmission or reception of low frequency RF signals. Traditionally this has been accomplished by trailing a long wire from the aircraft, thus forming a monopole. The monopole suffers from relatively low gain and narrow bandwidth.
A paper by L. Marin, J. P. Castillo and K. S. H. Lee, entitled "Broad-Band Analysis of VLF/LF Aircraft Wire Antennas", IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagation, Vol. AP-26, No. 1, January 1978, pp. 141-145, discusses analysis methods for various types of airborne wire antennas, none of which resemble the present invention. A paper by E. Vollmer and J. H. Hinken, entitled "Synthesis Method for Broad-Band Tapered Wire Antennas and its Experimental Verification", IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagation, Vol. AP-37, No. 8, August 1989, pp. 959-965, discusses the design of a Vivaldi wire antennas for use at millimeter wave frequencies. This reference makes no mention of applying a wire Vivaldi antenna for low frequency usage on an airborne platform.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide for a wideband, low frequency, airborne Vivaldi antenna and deployment method.